The Empowered Committees appointed for Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh on a Supreme Court directive have begun the process for disposing of the interlocutory applications with regard to the working of forests in the two neighbouring States. The president of National Committee for Protection of Natural Resources (NCPNR), Mr. S. R. Hiremath, who had moved the Supreme Court in the Bastar Malik Makbuja case, told The Hindu that he has been invited to appear before the Empowered Committee for Chhattisgarh on July 27.